Text: Habakkuk 3:17-19
Memory verse:
”giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,“
Ephesians 5:20 NKJV
To be thankful today and complain, murmur or grumble tomorrow equals ingratitude.Things may not always work like you planned, yet your thankfulness must not be affected. If we are only grateful when things are working as we have planned, then we are not truthful in our beliefs. In spite of the low valley experience of Habakkuk, he resolved that he would praise the Lord, just like David earlier did (Hab 3:17-18, Psa 34:1).
Thanking God as a habit means thanksgiving flows from you spontaneously, whether in good times or bad times. It means your faith is rooted in the integrity of God, that God will always cause all things to work together for your good. Joseph never lost his joy or his thankful attitude despite the cruelty of his own brothers, unfair judgment of Potiphar, and the forgetfulness of the chief butler.Paul and Silas praised God while in the dungeon and in chains.
The scripture commands us to make thanksgiving our habit (Col 3:17).
We need to thank God always and in everything (Eph 5:20).
God stands by and pronounces His blessings on only what is His will. You fulfill the will of God by thanking God in everything (1 Thes 5:18). You don’t thank God that you got sick or had a setback. Rather, you thank God because it is God’s will that you should be thankful in everything. That is, the negative thing is not the will of God but the thanksgiving. God is not happy when negative things happen to you. Thus, he went about undoing all that the devil had done by healing the sick, setting the oppressed free, raising the dead, and meeting needs.
Friends, thankfulness can be your habit. In every unpleasant situation, rather than complaining, let an outburst of “thank You Jesus” come out of your mouth. Hallelujah!
Prayer points
1. Father, please help me to develop a grateful habit this year, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, let me never take your grace for granted and become ungrateful in Jesus’ name.
Today’s declarations
1. I will thank God always and in all circumstances, not because God is happy when the negative happens but because thankfulness is His will.
2. The first response when a person with a grateful habit faces a challenge is to give thanks.
Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng